Divya Guha

8th August 2007

6:45 PM — Defenders of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights in Honduras and Guatemala are being subjected to state-sponsored harassment, death threats and other attacks.The attitude that they are often met with is that they 'get what they deserve.'Although homosexuality is legal in both countries, a new report from Amnesty International has revealed a catalogue of injustices.

31st July 2007

10:10 AM — A new chapter in the slow opening up of China started this month with the opening of a new social support centre for the gay community in Hong Kong.The centre is the first of its kind in the country.This was made possible with a one-year grant of HK$430,000 (£26,750) from the AIDS Trust Fund. The donation will pay the rent for the premises and support one full time staff member for one year.

23rd July 2007

5:40 PM — An audit by the Australian National University has revealed that the federal system in the country is proving a barrier for gay equality.The Australian federal government is trailing behind some of its state and territory counterparts, where gay families are accorded the same rights as heterosexual ones.The inquiry considered the impact of legislative and policy frameworks, as well as social attitudes that affect the rights of gay families in Australia.

3:18 PM — A homophobic Muslim doctor is being disciplined for saying that homosexuals, "need the stick of law to put them on the right path" and that they deserve neither help nor pity.This Hippocratic slur comes from a doctor who is the President of the Islamic Medical Association, which claims to represent 99% of the UK Muslim community.The offending medic, Dr Muhammad Siddiq, wrote in a letter to doctor's magazine Pulse:

12:37 PM — An ayslum seeker who sewed shut his eyes and lips in protest at being returned to Iran has been granted leave to remain in the UK.Shahin Portofeh, 27, an gay Iranian national, was seeking asylum in Coventry, but he was deported from the UK after his application was rejected.Despite his protests that he would be persecuted in his home country because of his sexuality, he was sent back.

16th July 2007

6:05 PM — The fifth Oxford Pride, held on Saturday, was well-attended and went off without any unfortunate rain.It was held on Oxpens Field and the patrons for this year's event were Peter Tatchell, Lord Waheed Ali and Sir Ian McKellan.Live music from acts including Natalie Powers and Lizzy Drip featured on the main stage, sponsored by public service trade union Unison.

5:18 PM — The White House has altered the phraseology of a policy which describes the grounds for granting security clearances to gays and lesbians.'Security clearance' is a formal check required in the US for handling confidential data or documents.It is often requested by US employers as a compulsory verification for employees.

3:54 PM — Lord Montagu, who was jailed after a notorious trial for homosexual offences in 1954, has said that he is bisexual and that to describe his sexuality any other way would be 'dishonest.'He will appear in a Channel 4 documentary about the case and its fascinating aftermath, when the public and press unexpectedly began to question the law which criminalised homosexuality.

1:57 PM — Four transgender youths in Nepal have become the latest victims of institutionalised hate directed against sexual minorities in the country.Five Nepalese transgender youths, known as meti, were brutally beaten, sexually abused and insulted by police in Kathmandu on the night of July 14th.Their crime is said to be carrying condoms for their own use.

12:25 PM — Mean Fiddler, the company which co-owns G-A-Y Bar and G-A-Y Late, is considering a provisional offer from MAMA group to sell these night spots.Mean Fiddler's Managing Director Melvin Benn has said that he sees this as good for business.G-A-Y is co-owned by promoter Jeremy Joseph and the Mean Fiddler Group, a subsidiary of the American advertising and media giant Clear Channel.

11th July 2007

10:10 AM — Today marks the 30th anniversary of the day when Denis Lemon was found guilty of committing libel against Christianity.He was the editor of the now defunct but iconic UK newspaper Gay News.Mary Whitehouse, founder of the National Viewers and Listeners Association, (NVLA) announced her intention to sue in December 1976 after she read the poem entitled The Love Which Cannot Speak Its Name by James Kirkup, published in Gay News.

9th July 2007

5:06 PM — In a dramatic u-turn Wal-Mart, the largest grocer in the US and the second largest in the world, has taken a coy step back from the active support it was previously giving to gay-rights groups.The anti-gay American Family Association (AFA) threatened to boycott Wal-Mart's next big sales period and condemned the blanket support it offered to gay-friendly business initiatives.The company succumbed to the AFA's latest threat to urge shoppers to boycott their post-Thanksgiving sale.

4:03 PM — This weekend's General Synod in York resolved to create a disciplinary covenant that might see some gay-friendly clergy and bishops thrown out of the Anglican church.There is no resolution in sight as the Church of England continues to equivocate on the issue of the ordination of gay clergy.The rows over the blessing of same-sex relationships and the ordination of gay clergy threatens to split the worldwide Church.

5th July 2007

2:22 PM — Homophobic bullying plagues the majority of UK schools and shocking levels of bullying are meted out to school pupils and teachers who either are gay or perceived to be gay.That is the conclusion of a wide-ranging study carried by gay equality organisation Stonewall.Nearly two thirds of LGB students reported instances of such harassment. That figure jumps to 75% of young gay people attending faith schools.

2nd July 2007

5:00 PM — Swimming squad Out To Swim has gained further kudos and made the LGB community proud, by winning the Middlesex swimming club championship.This second triumph in the space of a month is being seen as historic because the gay squad beat 17 teams in an all comers county-wide inter-club event.They have improved on Stonewall Football Club's previous triumph at the Middlesex Federation League Cup in 2004, as Out To Swim achieved a double whammy.

1:21 PM — Gay performers Elton John and Will Young were joined by Duran Duran, Rod Stewart, Supertramp to pay tribute to the people's Princess in Wembley Stadium yesterday, on what would have been Diana, Princess of Wales' 46th birthday.The concert concluded with Princes William and Harry paying an emotional tribute to their mother, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.A 63,000-strong crowd joined in the bittersweet celebration of the late princess' life, despite the rain.

26th June 2007

11:00 AM — Drag queens' services have been employed by the NHS in Yorkshire to strut on to the scene and smoke out the last ill-fated pro-smoking campaigners as England goes smoke-free in less than a week.Drag queens Precious, Miss Blanche, Portia and Danny Cher from the Birdcage nightclub in Leeds will encourage people to kick the habit and take their 'last drag' as this butt of contention is finally doused in the favour of healthier lungs for both active and passive smokers.

12:01 AM — Homophobic bullying plagues the majority of UK schools and shocking levels of bullying are meted out to school pupils and teachers who either are gay or perceived to be gay.That is the conclusion of a wide-ranging study carried by gay equality organisation Stonewall.Nearly two thirds of LGB students reported instances of such harassment.

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